Arcade Diner offers some interesting and unusual "edutainment" for practicing math, science, and problem-solving skills. "The irRegular Game of Life" leads you through 42 levels of cell-placing and evolving pattern placement. "Milo Physics" demonstrates concepts of physics by dropping objects and collecting stars to proceed to different levels. Also included are board games such as chess and mahjong, number games, and puzzle games. There are a great many logic activities and much more. Most activities include a visual tutorial. The site offers a sign-up for posting high scores; however, it isn't required to play games. Note: Some games play an approximately 30 second advertisement before loading.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Create a link to this site on classroom computers to use as a center. Share this site on your classroom website or blog for students to use at home. This is a fabulous site to provide to students/families to use over summer break!

Keeping Score takes you on a creative historical journey through the composers, conflicts, and culture of some of music's most beloved and classical works. This first-class website contains interactives for composers such as Beethoven, Copeland, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky. You can see pictures and listen to stories about the lives and times of the composers, hear the music, read personal reflections or quotes of the composers, and listen to commentary of other musical professionals. Also included are podcasts of the San Francisco radio show, 13 Days When Music Changed Forever which is about musical revolutions. The education link is full of ideas for incorporating music into any and all subjects. It also has time saving, standards guided lesson plans to be used in all educational settings. Musical education websites do not get cooler than this! This type of site can connect with today's learners by bringing them all the information that they need in a one stop, multimedia package. It is classy, concise, and easy to navigate.

In the Classroom

Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Allow students to explore specific composers on their own (or in cooperative learning groups). Have students make a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here.

U.S. and world history teachers will love this site! (As well as music teachers) Use interactives to integrate music into history classes, math classes (for timing and fractions), and English classes (reading and writing about music). All teachers can check out the thematic links for their subject to music. Take advantage of the FREE lesson plans. Chances are good that you could incorporate music into every type of class. Simply check out the education link, and your imagination and educational wheels will start spinning!

This site offers several original stories from Highlights Magazine. The stories feature audio, text, and beautiful illustrations. There is a wide variety offered, and the stories include both prose and poetry. You can also print page by page. Elementary aged ESL students and emerging readers will benefit from the double presentation of the stories both in text and orally. At the time of this review, there were five audio stories. All current stories are related to recent holidays and weather. Check back frequently as story choices may change along with the seasons. Don't miss the "Poetry Player" under the "Read it" tab for more readaloud options, including a Martin Luther King poem in January.

In the Classroom

Share the stories on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Build oral reading expression with these examples, as well. Following this model, have your students select a favorite story or poem. After they make original pictures and/or graphics to go with the stories, have them record themselves reading the story page by page. Have students create an online book using a tool such as Bookemon reviewed here. Another options, have groups create videos and share them on a site such as TeacherTube reviewed here. Share the Bookemon books or videos on your class website. (Be sure to get parent permission.) Share the Highlights site on your class webpage for families to read together.

This Study Skills site is fabulous! The activities are all divided by ages (5-9, 10-14, and 15-18). Each age level includes teacher information, parent information, and Learners... the link to find the neat interactives! Each age level also highlights four key areas: Do, Get, Remember, and Understand. Each area includes some age-appropriate text and interactives.

For professional purposes, there are also links (some PDF files) to research about the importance of teaching study skills. This site makes it easy and fun to teach these life skills! This site was creating in the United Kingdom, so you may notice a few spelling and pronunciation differences from American English.

In the Classroom

This is one of those rare sites that should be saved in ALL teachers' favorites. Be sure to list this link on your class website.

Share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students work with a partner to navigate the age appropriate activities at the site. Why not highlight a different area each month or unit of study so you have material with which to apply it (Do, Get, Remember, or Understand). During month/unit one introduce study skills using the Do link and resources. Then further investigate subsequent study skills each month/unit using the other main topics : Get, Remember, and Understand. Have students try out some of their "new skills" before the unit test. Be sure to ask them afterwards why they were successful (or not) in applying the new study approach. Maybe even add a question about the latest study skill at the end of every test.

KidRex is an engaging, safe search engine for students that is powered by Google Custom Search and Google SafeSearch technology. In addition to typical filters applied to searches, the site maintains its own database of inappropriate websites and keywords to further reduce the possibility of inappropriate search returns. The search engine is easy to use and similar to a typical Google search. You simply enter the search term and a list of sites is returned. Inappropriate search terms are returned with an "Oops, try again!" message. Before using the site, be sure to click on the Parents link for a quick overview of how the site works.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Create a link to KidRex on classroom computers for students to use as a default search engine. Use this site on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) to demonstrate how to search for items or when searching with your students.

Comments

A similar site that uses Google SafeSearch, but may be more appropriate for older kids is http://www.KidzSearch.comDaniel, CA, Grades: 0 - 12

Package your files (or groups of files) for sharing in "crates" simply by dragging and dropping them in place. After dropping them into the crate, the files are uploaded. Use the links then provided to share your files with others. The free account has a limited number of 6 crates and 1,000 files that may be uploaded. Easily share documents with others in the class. Though not a complete back-up of all your documents, Let's Crate can be used to collaborate and to finish work easily when on different computers. Any Word files, slides, or videos can be shared via Let's Crate.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use for any work students may wish to collaborate on. Use this resource to upload files for access at school later. (Be sure to make sure that this site is not blocked by the district first.) The possibilities here are endless - any subject area, any level, any topic!

This site offers short video tutorials for many common web 2.0 tools, technology tasks, and subject specific items. This is truly an awesome find! Some examples of topics (at the time of this review) include: Twitter Hashtags, Adding Pictures to your Wiki, Google Swirl, YouTube Interactive Videos, and countless others. Additional videos provide still images set to music and can be used during instruction. These videos include the American Revolution, Algebra Mistakes, and science topics. There appears to be a new tutorial added every few weeks, so check back often. The actual videos are hosted on YouTube, so they may be blocked in some schools.

In the Classroom

This site is great for teachers and students. Show these videos using an projector or interactive whiteboard to introduce students to a new web 2.0 tool before starting a project. The videos are five minutes or less so they won't take up too much instructional time. Make this link available as a Favorite on you teacher public page as student self-help. These videos are also helpful for teachers who want to know more about tech tools but don't have the time to participate in lengthy workshops. Please note that the videos are embedded YouTube videos so they may be blocked by your district. If your school blocks streaming video sites, consider accessing this site and choosing videos at home. Use a tool such as KeepVid reviewed here to download the videos from YouTube.

You can make your very own comic right now! At Write Comics, you will be able to create your own comics using the figures, backgrounds, animal, aliens, and dialogue bubbles, supplied by Write Comics. This site is extremely easy to use. There is no need to sign up or register. Once you click Finish, you will be given a link. Go to your link and print your comic or upload it to your webpage.

In the Classroom

Create a comic to put on your website. You might want to use Write Comics to display the vocabulary word of the day, the math puzzle of the week, a concept your students are learning in social studies or science. Have students create comic strips for dialog-writing lessons, summarizing, predicting and retelling stories. Use comic strips for literature responses. For pre-reading students, create a comic of pictures and have students tell the story based on the pictures/scenes. Make a class book of the comics created throughout the year. That book will become the most read classroom book of all in an elementary classroom. Use comics to show sequencing of events. When studying about characterization, create dialog to show (not tell) about a character. World language and ESL/ELL teachers can assign students to create dialog strips as an alternate to traditional written assessments. Have students share all of their comics on your interactive whiteboard or projector.

Investigate the art of shadow puppetry through Shadow Light Productions. This is a commercial site featuring performances for school groups, community centers, or various events. Examples of performances with traditional stories appear in written and video format. A commercial venture on this site sells DVDS of actual performances. Begin your study of shadow puppetry at this site. Detailed plans with standards include suggested objectives, strategies, equipment, materials, and resources for audio, video, and texts. These plans answer all your questions on how to use shadow puppetry effectively in your classroom. Examples of lesson plans and student performance give ideas for language arts classes. Some of the images (although appropriate) may appear scary to younger students. So please preview before you share with your class.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Share some of this "puppeteer fun" on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Integrate into your Language Arts classroom to discover theme, plot, characterization, or myths and legends in a new way. Science classes can investigate the use of shadow and sound. Shadow puppetry is an easy way to incorporate several multiple intelligences. Easily differentiated plans for ESL/ELL and Gifted students to capture interest and motivate success. Use as an enrichment cluster, or after-school activity. Be sure to capture all your class creations on video and share on your class web site or blog.

Find material about the U.S. national symbols, famous Americans, major landmarks, national symbols, and the basics of the US government organization and workings. Although this site is geared towards ESL/ELL students, it could be useful in all classrooms. The site is not high tech. It consists mostly of simple written text. In addition to text, there are slide shows about government topics that include lesson plans, pictures and activities. There is also a link to videos on many of the topics. Links to other themed pages include U.S. holidays, important U.S. politicians, geography, and life/survival skills for ELL/ELL learners.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Have ESL/ELL students search for answers to previously prepared questions or do a scavenger hunt to find relevant information. Pair ESL/ELL students with a verbally strong English speaking partner so they can listen to the text being read. Use the links under U.S. Geography as an introduction for students doing state projects. Have students create posters from the info they gather here using a tool such as Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here or PicLits (reviewed here. Or use an online poster creator, such as Padlet (reviewed here).

The U Games Summer Challenge is a Multiplayer Video Game Tournament. Students can compete in 5 different rounds. They use math and literacy skills to compete for prizes. This enables students to continue learning all summer so they will be ready for the fall. The "games" remain on the site year-round for extra practice. Be sure to read the FAQ section to learn about how to use this site and the many resources.

In the Classroom

Use this multi-year project as a way to keep your students sharp over the summer. This will be an excellent activity if you teach summer school to keep kids fresh. These educational resources are available all year (even when no competition is occurring). Be sure to save this site in your favorites and share this link on your class website.

This site includes five levels of lessons to help students learn to read English (based on UK English, not American English.) Levels include Learning the Sounds, Sound Combinations, Capital Letters and Punctuation, The Alphabet, and Numbers. Materials include animated learning interactives, exercises and presentations focusing on learning letter sounds, the alphabet, writing with correct punctuation and capitalization, and using numbers. A picture dictionary and a word search feature allow students to add to their vocabulary. This site would be appropriate for non-readers, those with reading disabilities, ESL/ELL, and special education students.

In the Classroom

Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. If you have an entire class of non-readers, make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center. Share this site with your teaching colleagues who work with your learning support (or ESL/ELL) students. Use the materials on this site for extra support for those learning to read.

Students can input the name of a book they have just finished in order to find a list of similar books they might enjoy. Either Amazon or LibraryThing makes the suggestions. Clicking on the book links to Amazon for purchase.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Put this site on your classroom computers for students to use to guide their choice of outside reading materials. The site may be helpful for ELL/ESL students who are less familiar with book offerings in English. Parents may be interested in using this site to find literature for their students, so be sure to list this link on your class website.

Curriki is a nonprofit organization that encourages collaboration of teachers and learners in a global community of 211 different countries. Find resources by grade level, subject area, or resource type (interactive, video, or podcast.) Usage type, or exercise, unit, lesson plan, or game, is another option for searching. Use the professional webinars for a better understanding of Curriki. Onsite training is another option listed. Join different groups for a more involved way to explore new areas in online learning, subject area interests, or focus questions. Be a peer reviewer offering comments or suggestions on submitted lessons, units, games, or exercises and give your input. Create collections of your resources to keep privately or share with others. Easily make lesson plans or web quests with the easy to use templates, which include graphic organizer and rubric options. Try a problem based learning unit. Join the challenge to create a video lesson for a chance at winning $5000. The focus of this site is to provide access to teachers, schools, students, or parents to many new creative ideas in a global community. Free membership includes monthly newsletters. Follow Curriki on Facebook, twitter, or blogs.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Curriki has a number of ways to benefit teachers and students. Use Curriki as a resource listed on your website for parents and students to have extra opportunities for additional practice or enrichment. Use as a way to organize your digital resources. The lesson plan and webquest templates are user friendly and promote best practices. While growing in your professional development by connecting with teachers worldwide, let your class learn with other classes worldwide. Curriki encourages you to think critically of your own lessons, but also lessons suggested.

Created by librarians and reading specialists this site offers links to book trailers (video-audio presentations of new and popular books), favorite author websites, and websites that review books interesting for students ages 6-13. You'll also find links to online references (fun and interactive encyclopedias, dictionaries, and atlases), safe student search engines, and educational games (including typing and grammar games).

Use the site map to find hundreds of book trailers listed by the publishing year and title, or grouped by grade level. This site is frequently updated, so check back often!

In the Classroom

Use your projector and interactive whiteboard to demonstrate to students how to use the reference part of this site before starting individual or group projects.

Use the author portion of this site to have students look for new books to read, or to complete a project on author studies.

This site is excellent for enrichment. Include this site on your class web page for students and parents to access as a reference. Include it on your classroom computers for students to access in class. Ask students to use and review various parts of this site.

This site, created by a French-speaking professor, offers interactive "books" on grammar topics for English learners. Open the pages and find plenty of exercises on the selected topic, including grammar. Topics include the verb "to be," past tense, present continuous tense, using "can," using "must/mustn't," a variety of holidays, clothing, houses, daily routine, places in town, pronouns, etc. The only drawback is that the opening page that lists the topics is in French, but if you look at the menu on the left, all topics are in English. After finding a topic, you can see the "Table of Contents" for the book listing all the interactive exercises which include audio.

In the Classroom

You may want to first share this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector, so students understand how to navigate the site. It is worth searching this site to find the review exercises you would like your ESL/ELL students to brush up on. Include the site on a classroom computer list so the students can also work ahead and become familiar enough with it to use it at home. The exercises are good enough that native English speakers with trouble spots or special education students would also find it useful.

Short stories, biographies, riddles, games and other appealing activities make this an attractive way to introduce students to magazine reading. With both academic and just-for-fun features, the site fills the need students have after Highlights Magazine and other similar publications get too old. Students are using their reading skills as they try to solve riddles, tell jokes, and practice tongue-twisters.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Keep this site in mind to recommend to parents for use during summer vacation. Be sure to list this link on your class website. Take a few moments in class to display the various parts to show the wide range of reading activities (and writing activities, using these articles as models) students can enjoy.

Sqworl is a site for combining multiple links into one single link. Registration is required; however, it is very easy. You create a username and password, add your email and it is done. After registering, a personal homepage is created, this is where the magic can begin! The homepage is where groups will be created to combine url's. Then adding some groups of link begins the process of creating groups. At this point a title is given to the group being created (examples might be Math sites, American History, etc.). The final step is to add a short description. After choosing start, simply copy and paste the url you want to use and add a short description and click finish. Once a group is created, it can be shared through the url shown on the page. Sqworl also has a bookmarklet that can be added to the browser toolbar making it easier to add items to your groups without having to open the homepage. There is also a mobile app for iPhone.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

In the classroom use this site to combine url's of online class projects into one group. Create a group of resources for students or parents for different subjects and share the url through your classroom website or newsletter. Create a group with videos relating to classroom content. Create a classroom account and let students add resources they have found to groups to share with others. Show students how to follow other groups on Sqworl and share resources by creating their own groups. Share this site with others in your building or district as an easy way to save and share online resources.

Get rid of the last minute rush and make planning research projects easier with this online calculator and planner. Simply put in some basic information such as your name, class, email, and type of project. Then the calculator maps out a time-lime for completing the project on time. You can choose from several types of projects such as essay, slide presentation, or video. The last step is putting in information including the starting and due dates. A step by step process is revealed with dates to finish each portion of the project beginning with questions to answer before beginning, gathering information, drawing conclusions, communicating information, and evaluation. Each of these portions contains links with further information and probes to keep the project moving along. This entire page can then be emailed to you for future use or the choice can be made to receive an email each step along the way.

In the Classroom

Share this site with students to use as a planning guide for research projects. Create one timeline for the entire class to use as a planning benchmark or create timelines for each student. ESL/ELL and Special Education teachers may find this to be a useful tool to help students with planning and preparing for long-term projects. Provide this link for students to access both in and out of the classroom while planning projects.

This wiki is a treasure trove of resources for teachers to use when using the Differentiated Instruction model of instruction. The site is most easily navigated by choosing topics from the links on the left side of the page. Topics include background information, planning and managing, and professional development tools. After choosing a topic, there is a list of links: some are to videos, others are to Word or PDF documents that can be downloaded for immediate use. One particularly rich resource on the wiki is the section titled Questioning & Thinking Skills. Located here are many resources such as how to write great questions, a Blooms Taxonomy interactive quiz, podcasts about Blooms Taxonomy, an Essential Questions PowerPoint, and much more. This section is worth a visit just to review the resources. Another well-developed portion of the wiki is the Pre-Assessment link. Here you will find many documents to use for pre-assessment of knowledge as well as activating prior knowledge resources.

In the Classroom

Use the printable resources on the site in your classroom to help differentiate instruction. Share resources from the site during staff meetings to help further knowledge of Differentiated Instruction techniques and management. Break up the wiki into sections and have different staff members present on resources from different parts of the site.